Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

Paul Wall’s debut is really good. Lyrically he’s sharp. The beats are decent. I liked most of the songs toward the first half. The 2 nd half wasn’t that bad but there was a noticeable drop off. “Girl” is a good love song in that 2 nd half. “I’m a Playa” is fire and it features Three 6 Mafia. Mike Jones returns the favor by being featured on “They Don’t Know”. Trey Songz shows up on the anthemic “Ridin Dirty”. I really like “State to State” which features Freeway. My favorite song is “Internet Goin Nutz” where Paul gets his mack on. This is an album that maybe a lot of people missed but its really solid! Lyrics 23 Beats 20 Depth 22 Tilt 20 Verdict 85

 I gotta admit i was worried cause some movie reviews said this movie wasn’t all that. I really liked it ! The voice cast from the first movie is back: Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, and Keegan-Micahel Key as Toad. They are joined by newcomers Donald Glover as Yoshi (cause why not lol), Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr., Glen Powell as Fox McCloud, and Brie Larson as Princess Rosalina. The movie's plot is rather straight forward. Mario and company must rescue Rosalina from the clutches of Bowser Jr. I really thought Bowser Jr. was a cool villain. He commands alot of attention in his action scenes. Mario and Lugi are together throughout the movie this time. There's a scene in the movie where Peach and Toad just kick major butt. I really love that they put Fox McCloud in the movie too. His inclusion makes sense and his character was great. Yoshi was a likeable character too.  Bowser is kind of a good guy for at least...

 I gotta admit this might be the best OutKast album. The lyricism is so great here and it’s very well produced also. "Rosa Parks" is simply one of my favorite rap songs of all time. It's infectious. The title track is somber but really good too. "Skew It On The Bar-B" was another highlight. "Da Art of Storytelling', Pt.1 and Pt. 2 are really creative too. I recognize the beat of Pt. 1 was used by J. Cole on his Born Sinner album years later. Big Boi does a great job on "West Savannah". While maybe one of the weaker songs, I kinda liked "Mamacita". It was different. The final 2 songs, "Liberation" and "Chonkyfire" are long but excellent. Overall yeah this album is further proof that Outkast is the best rap duo. This is one of the dirty south's best albums imo.  Lyrics 25 Beats 23 Depth 25 Tilt 25 Verdict 98

 I recently beat Astro Bot for PS5 and oh my god was it a blast to play! The game is a literal love letter to the Sony Playstation brand. Astro Bot is cute little protagonist. He has the ability to punch enemies and objects.  He also has a booster jump which can also be used to beat certain enemies too. In addition you get certain devices that help you such as a rocket boosting dog....or a monkey with extending arms. There's a whole lot more too. As with the PS5 tech demo the game has incredible haptic feedback for all your actions. That PS5 controller is awesome! The game has so many incredible stages. It kinda of reminds me of Kirby and the Forgotten Land in that you are looking for your lost crew mate robots on each stage. You'll go through a stage and find (sometimes very cleverly) hidden crew mates and also these puzzle pieces. The puzzle pieces unlock new building on your crash site home planet. Unlike Kirby tho you must find a certain number of robot buddies to take on ...

 This album from Nelly Furtado is like a lost gem to me as I didn't listen to it much over the years. Nelly Furtado partnered with Timbaland for this one and the production is just fantastic. The album gets off to a great start with songs like "Maneater" which is such a banger. Then there's the popular single "Promiscuous" which is a funny concept of a song but catchy as hell. Nelly sings, "Is that the truth or are you talking trash, game MVP like Steve Nash" lol ."In God's Hands" is the slower song but I like the message. "Say It Right" is probably my favorite song here. It's so smooth and unique. "Do It" and "Wait For You" are also amazing. I don't speak Spanish but the 2 Spanish songs "No Hay Iguana" and "Te Busque" weren't bad. Ultimately this is one of the definitive 2000s pop albums.  Lyrics 23 Beats 25 Depth 23 Tilt 25 Verdict 96

  Ciara’s debut has all the qualities that a debut R&B album should have, and that’s a good and a bad thing. Luckily its mostly a good thing. Ciara never really experiments, and plays it safe on the entire album. The album has a good mix of party/uptempo songs like the lead single Goodies and 1 2 Step. Oh with Ludacris is very good and pretty midtempo. And I is an exceptional ballad song. Theres some other good songs to round it out. The album is simple and effective, and a good way to start a career. Lyrics 20 Beats 22 Depth 21 Tilt 22 Verdict 85